Did the fish take the bait? [GR dom for Manaan]

[Ali Hadrix]

Objective A
Post #: 2/20

Ali glanced across the row of the primary assembly as Organa rose and began to speak. She knew little of the woman's recent history with the Republic, but that it was more shades of grey than anything else. Ali remained silent as the woman representing the interests of the Selkath welcomed her sister, Faith Balor, and introduced herself. The tone of her voice shifted from warm to room temperature as it took on a blunt edge. “Is the Republic capable of defending Manaan against another invasion without a total loss to the city?”
Ali felt this question was more her territory than the Republic Senator's. She queued her mic and locked eyes with Faith briefly before standing and addressing the assembly.
"Honorable Representatives, I am Ali Hadrix, Supreme Commander of the Republic's armed forces." Ali reached out to her datatablet and selected one of the preset hologifs. At the center of the chamber, a large representation of Republic space appeared, with recent conflicts outlined on multiple worlds; Contruum the most recent. With their supply lines cut off, many worlds in the Southern hemisphere of the Galaxy had been isolated.
"I understand your concern that the Republic is incapable of keeping its people secure." Ali allowed her gaze to drift slowly across the faces of the Selkath present. "We have suffered defeats in eleven of our last engagements, resulting in the loss of nearly a dozen worlds. The Sith war machine continues to grow and thrive, pushing forth in the North and West reaches of the Galaxy. Even so, the Sith's effort against the Republic has slowed. Our intelligence tells us this is due to a shift in leadership amongst the Sith that hold different priorities. However, the Republic's resolve to destroy their empire has never been stronger." Ali's holoprojection focused on the Inner Rim, where Manaan was located.

Ali touched another key on her datatablet. The image of a massive, spearhead-shaped warship replaced that of the Galaxy floating in the air above the chamber floor. The vessel was intimidating, lending a sense of discomfort to even potential allies.
"I have personally secured the procurement of two Bastion-class Star Destroyers from Aurora Industries," Ali explained. "Despite our recent losses, the majority of these have been in theaters other than orbital and deep space operations. These are the advantages we maintain over our enemies; the Republic is unparalleled. Your planet offers its own defense that bolsters what our fleets are able to contribute; the Sith are not prepared to mount an assault of your world. The oceans are not something they are capable of defeating. The Selkath are not something the Sith are capable of defeating."

[member=Faith Balor-Organa] | [member=Alyesa Organa]​

 

[Corvus Raaf]

[Post=2/20]​

After a while she reached a long, winding tunnel that led toward the access shaft she wanted. She flicked on her glow rod. Just as she judged that she was beneath the central core of the shaft, the tunnel opened out into an excavated cavern, a massive place with a floor sloping in from all sides toward a sinkhole in the middle.

“Oh” she said. She pressed a hand over her nose in disgust. She’d been smelling the rank tang of sewage for a while, but actually seeing this place seemed to make everything so much worse.

The effluent of the whole tower flowed here. Perhaps ten thousand people of a dozen species, all venting their waste into toilets and disposal units in dwellings and offices, taverns and restaurants. Rainwater already stinking with pollutants was used to flush, and now she could see the resultant rain of shak showering down from the high ceiling. Countless pipes and gullies led here, their stinking contents falling in blessed darkness to splash onto the floor. And the floor was moving, a thick stew of repulsiveness flowing slowly down the slope toward the large hole in the cavern’s centre. From there Lanoree guessed it fell into an underground lake or a deep fault in the planet’s crust; thousands of years of a city’s refuse rotting in the darkness. At least they weren’t polluting the seas.

“Being a Jedi brings me to the nicest places,” she said out loud, aware others were nearby — she sensed their presence.

 

[Jaccer Ramirez]

Post Number: [7/20]
Objective E: Do something else

Spoiler

Forces:
64 Soldiers

• All equipped with advanced Xythan force shields
• Split into 8 fire teams of 8 soldiers

Xythan Force Shield Dev post #7

"Alright, get moving back to the hangar and prep for an immediate EVAC. Galactic Republic engineers have been dispatched to the station, I recommend to set weapons to safety to avoid any friendly fire." Engineers had been sent to the soldiers current location with the aim to recommission the station to suit the future needs of the Republic in the station. This had been the plan all along, the 64 troopers were only necessary to dispose of any potential opposition. This had been a good call from those high up, as it would've been likely that without them the engineers would've been slaughtered and likely taken as hostages. It had also been a good call for the Lieutenant to provide them with Xythan force shields. Without them, the soldiers, no matter how skilled they were at combat, would've been overwhelmed the the mere numbers of the defenders present on the station.

It didn't take long for the seven fireteams to guide themselves back to the hangar and rejoin Alpha Fireteam who had defended the positions since the situation earlier. With all the turbolasers deactivated, the dropships could now return to complete the evacuation of the 64 soldiers. "Confirmed. Come and pick up our boys." "Roger that, making our approach now. We urge you to step back." Before long two dropships would burst through the shields of the hangar and come to a swift landing. Only seconds after the thrusters would of the ships would power down would the soldier begin to enter the seating area via the loading ramp at the rear.

Unknown to everyone but the pilots and Jaccer, the soldier would not be returning to the Republic capital ship they were deployed from. No, instead they would be making a detour.



(OOC Note: Feel free to @mention me if you require any assistance with your objective.)

 

[Gir Quee]

Location: Star Destroyer Obi-Wan Kenobi, in orbit via Manaan
Objective: E
Allies: [member="Reshmar"] | [member="Vernan Holt"]
Enemies: none yet

[ 2 / 20 ]

[Development post 2]

"I don't see it...wait...now I do. It doesn't seem too big up from here," said Lod.

Gir spared a quick glance at the system's golden sun, "Wait until we cross into the night side. It'll probably look a bit different."

Lod turned his gaze from the distant gray speck of Ahto City, "I've seen the city lights in the dark, sir, from orbit."

"I'm not doubting that," said Gir, turning his gaze to the floating city, "but I think it might strike you to see how important this location truly is. It's the only city that anyone can land conventional ground forces at on Manaan. With defenses set in geosynchrous orbit over the city, it will be far harder to attack it."

"That's textbook, sir," mused the duros captain.

"You're not excited, are you?"

"One of those necessary but sundry duties."

"But an important one nonetheless," agreed Gir, "let's get the centerpiece in position. Go ahead and signal the first group to jump in. I'm going to run one more system scan just to make sure that we haven't missed anything."

"Yes sir."

 

[Gir Quee]

Location: Star Destroyer Obi-Wan Kenobi, in orbit via Manaan
Objective: E
Allies: [member="Reshmar"] | [member="Vernan Holt"]
Enemies: none yet

[ 3 / 20 ]
[Development Post #3]

Gir stared at the holograph of the bothan in front of him. Commander Besk Arr'Krel had become almost legendary in the admiral's White Fleet as the paragon officer who talked unusually straight and candidly with everyone. Hardly the political schemer that many bothans had been made out to be by popular galactic culture. Gir knew and trusted him far better than most, yet he found himself eying the bothan carefully, looking for any trace that his comrade in arms wasn't being fully truthful with. It's weird seeming him on that bridge...is it even a bridge? He shuffled that thought to back of his mind as the bothan began to speak.

"Admiral Quee," started Besk, "we are prepared to jump whenever your are ready. However, I do not like that the Obi-Wan isn't visible. While I do not doubt that you have taken some precuations to prevent an accident."

He paused.

"You already know what my thoughts are. I don't think that the tactical and strategic benefit of stealth outweighs my safety concerns here. I don't trust droid-operated tugs."

"A concern which I can understand," said the admiral, "which is why the Obi-Wan is even further back than normal for this sort of operation. But it is my concern that the deployment and positioning may not be entirely peaceful."

"You think there's the possibility that the station will be attacked during this operation?"

"I cannot see any separatist commander wanting this to be here...or even entertain the possibility of leaving it alone. It's far too much of a strategic liability to leave it be unhindered."

"But there aren't any known leaks..." protested the bothan.

"No, and that actually worries me a bit..." confessed Gir, "it'd be easier for us if we knew for certain that someone was informing them..."

 

[Doyle]

Posts 1/20
Objective F - Pirate Charity
Location - Asteroid Field, aboard the corvette
Allie's - [member="Thraxis"], [member="Cadan Tazi"], [member="Tiali Orazio"]
Ship - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Customs_Frigate


[member="Flannigan Mcnash"] 's command came in loud and clear. Her own ship 'Virgil' was prepared for this, just as the leader of the Jackals was. He was afterall, a great strategist. -"Yes sir. Deploying mines now. McFadden out."-

Stokes turned to her crew. "You heard the man...or droid. Deploy the mines, scatter them across the field." She didn't sit in a chair on the deck of her ship. Instead she stood behind and to the side of her two pilots. This way she could provide assistance on a moment's notice. "Let's make it fun out there for them. "

Her eyes were intense as she stared out of the viewport while her six man crew did their work. Hundreds of mines were then scattered across the field, making it difficult for any large vessel to pass through.

 

[Farryn Loragwyn]

Objective: E - Training
Post: [7/20]

Having spent the previous day relaxing, it was time tat Sofia returned to her training. This time Sofia was going to take it easy - at least compared to before. Her muscles felt less sore than before probably because she had given them time to heal a bit.

Sofia ran around the city in her military uniform rather than in a set of Galactic a Republic standard armour. Pushing herself hard was pointless if it ended up hurting her in the process. If she was injured, she would be forced out of battle until her wounds were healed which would lead to a decrease in her skills. This was something she couldn't allow or afford to happen. She needed to avenge her family by eliminating the Sith and assist in contributing to the safety of sentient beings in the galaxy.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Post: 3/20​

Corvus went to speak and immediately stopped herself, because that would have meant opening her mouth. She consulted her wrist computer one more time, then switched it off. The plans were of no use to her now. Whatever she was looking for was somewhere not shown on the schematics, and she thought she knew how to find it.

She wandered around the perimeter of the massive cavern with her glow rod.

She had already seen the overhang at the left, the space beneath protected from anything falling from above. It led to the entrance of a corridor hidden behind a projection in the wall, and once inside the floor immediately sloped upward.

She paused. A hidden place, not on the plans. Might not be the right place. But she figured she’d soon know.

She relaxed, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, letting the Force flow. In moments the stink was gone, her senses cleansed and purified by the Force, ready for what she sought. An energy source.

She cast her senses outward.

 

[Hopeman12]

Objective C
Post 3/20
Allies: GR

As Jordun walked through the dark stinky tunnels in the dark, he noticed a large glow in a distance. He thought to himself "Darn it, The selkath militia!". Then, an idea popped into Darko's head. He will use his secret technique "The Darko Special" (Basically a surprise attack from the sewer water). Jordun slid quietly into the dirty tunnel water and swam towards the light. As soon as he came in range, he used the force to pour the water on the unsuspecting person. As The person looked confused, Jordun jumped from the water and pulled out his lightsaber. As he ignited it however, his mouth dropped. IT WAS GRAND MASTER [member="Corvus Raaf"] of all people. The scolding he was going to get from Master Shatterstar after the mission.... "Oh Boy" He said to himself.

 

[Faith Organa]

Objective A


Supreme Commander [member="Ali Hadrix"] a godsend at this meeting. Faith nodded and gave way the floor to her knowing that the military position of the Republic was more her domain than any other. Faith tried to keep close relations with the military to learn their needs, as she had started when [member="Gir Quee"] was the Supreme Commander
.
Faith could not help but watch her sister [member="Alyesa Organa"] . History. Their mother had already issued communications to them both to bury the hatchet, and not in each other. They were family and a united front would be seen at all costs.

Faith had growled at her mother her promptly put her in her place making her feel like a child than an adult.

But that was private, and this was very public. The Republic had to win over the confidence of the Citizens of Manaan. Faith watched the faces of the representatives, it was hard to read a Selkath

 

[Long Gone]

Objective A

Post 3/20

Alyesa listened to the presentation - all the declarations and glam that the Republic presented but [member="Ali Hadrix"] must have forgotten the threats that lay within the depths of the oceans themselves. She would lean over to whisper to the Minister, who in turn nodded before she in turn stood up and gestured towards the Supreme Commander. "I will politely remind the Republic that there were displaced and discarded weapons within the depths of the ocean beneath this very city at the last engagement - I will also remind the Republic that the Sith brought a foul creature to this world." She pushed a few buttons upon the datapad, bringing archived holofeed of a leviathan, the beast that the One Sith used in the previous engagement. "I will now however, discredit the Jedi who managed to tame this beast and ensure it was turned upon the One Sith but even so, at a costly price."

She gestured to more archived footage. "This is suffice to say, that the Republic has failed against the One Sith war machine in the past." She would stop the footage at the point where the One Sith breached the generator room. "Now, again, we must not forget the sacrifices made upon this world by Jedi and countless Republic soldiers in defense of this very city." She looked to the Minister who nodded in agreement. She turned her back to both the Supreme Commander and [member="Faith Balor-Organa"] alike before raising a single finger. "It took quite some time for the Rift to be repaired and replenished after it was poisoned - so, I guess." She chuckled softly. "I mean, let's not beat around the bush here." She gestured outwardly and turned to face both Faith and Ali once more. "The Republic is here for resources beyond the support of the Selkath and Manaan alike, am I correct?"

Before either could respond, Alyesa would gestured. "The kolto fields to be specific."

 

[Amelia von Sorenn]

Objective E - 'Waters of Life'
Location: Ahto City; Hanger Bay 11
Allies: The Templar Order
Enemies: None Currently
Post: 2/20

A gust of wind blew through the hanger bay, bringing in the taste and smell of salt water; the sea just a mere few meters from the edge of where she stood. Her eyes slowly scanning over the horizon of the ever rolling ocean that spread across the world before her. Sure there were plenty of cities beneath the waves, though it seemed like Ahto city was destined to always remain above them, and to always become the target for one government or the other. Taking a moment to appreciate the scent of salt, she was pulled from her thoughts as a Templar approached. ​

​

"Ma'am, sensors indicate multiple vessels entering the system and converging on the planet." ​

​

"Do we know who?" ​

​

"Could be the Republic Ma'am. Though with their own civil war they may over look our presence." ​

​

"I don't want any problems. Keep to the Warehouse and the Hanger bay only." ​

​

"Yes Ma'am." ​

​

Taking a last moment to look back to the ocean, her eyes peered up towards the skies as if she were attempting to spot the new vessels arriving from where she stood upon the surface of the world. Her arms clasped behind her back as she slowly spun, sunlight catching upon the armor at the most opportune time and glistening off of it as she moved. Slipping back into the shadows soon enough, she motioned with her hand to two of the Templars that stood idly with nothing more to do than guard the floor they stood upon. ​

​

"You two with me to the Warehouse." ​

​

"Yes Knight-Commander." ​

​

They spoke in unison before falling into formation behind the woman. Her heavy foot falls echoing through the hanger bay as she slipped into the hall, the door across the way from her marked as 'Warehouse' while the blast doors in that section had been closed to ensure their privacy. Stepping forward the doors slipped open, revealing a sizable room beyond with tanks of Kolto. A handful of Templars remained in the room, some loading the tanks into the hoversleds for transport, while others slowly moved around the room. ​

​

As she stepped in she waved her hand for a moment, quickly preventing those that had already begin to stop their salute and return to their work. The woman's eyes fell upon the Selkath that stood silently in the Warehouse, the being that had been so helpful as to provide a few samples. She smiled to the being, offering a quiet nod as it slowly continued to count out the Peggats that rest in the case that lain upon the table. ​

 

[Corvus Raaf]

[Post=4/20]​

Corvus eschewed armour - much to her older sister's annoyance. She avoided 'toys' as she called them too. But she was never going to reject two gifts from Braith. So a pair of necklaces adorned her neck.

One told her where Braith was at any time - or at least a direction. And if she was close, it glowed to indicate the fact. The other, a beautiful serpent that was swallowing its own tail, was surprisingly practical too - as she found out when she fought Darth Vornskr.

Among the tricks it had up its sleeve (or tail...or whatever) was an ability to absorb Dark-energy. Another benefit was a barrier that automatically defended her from any harm. Her Teräs Käsi training always alerted her to attacks. Her abilities in Center of Being afforded her a Force-based precognition on attacks. But this time it was the necklace that saved her a soaking.

And given the stench - it was in many ways the young Padawan that was saved too.

A smile played across her lips as she surveyed the scene. "A Jedi should only draw his saber if he is prepared to take a life. Are you?" The curve on her lips showed she saw the funny side of it.

[member="Jordun Darko."]

 

[Gir Quee]

Location: Star Destroyer Obi-Wan Kenobi, in orbit via Manaan
Objective: E
Allies: [member="Reshmar"] | [member="Vernan Holt"]
Enemies: none yet

[ 4 / 20 ]
[Manaan One Development Post #4]

"It's the nature of war to never fully have enough intelligence," mused the bothan commander.

"Agreed. I'm hoping that they don't have enough intelligence to act on yet, which is why this is happening now, and not later."

"A bit of a gambit."

Gir nodded, "But one of the safer ones we can make. Is your crew and station ready for the deployment jump?"

Arr'Krel's fur rippled, "Ready as we can be. It's not a fully finished station, and I'm working with a skeleton crew right now."

"Logistics is another one of those things we never to seem to have enough of, but it's what we have. It's what will have to do."

"We can ready to jump in fifteen minutes. I want to make sure that all of the construction has stopped and all of their equipment is secure before we jump."

"Understandable, it may be turbulent coming out of the jump so close to a gravity well."

The two officers excused themselves from the holo-conference. Gir's thoughts wandered back to his old academy mate, a different Besk Arr'Krel. One known as much for his gambles on the battlefield as for the ones at the sabacc tables. It seemed to Gir that the bothan had aged mentally far faster than his body did. He wondered just how much of that process had been natural maturity, and how much of it had been the fatigue of command. But maybe it'll make him a better commander after all, if we can ever get him to budge off of Manaan One without too much hassle. Gir shrugged the thoughts off and began to type in his console to review the logistics of the operation.

 

[Jaccer Ramirez]

Post Number: [8/20]
Objective E: Do something dodgy

Spoiler

Forces:
64 Soldiers

• All equipped with advanced Xythan force shields
• Split into 8 fire teams of 8 soldiers

Xythan Force Shield Dev post #8

A lone frigate floated in the dead of space far beyond any planet or moon. This frigate appeared to be dead in the water, or perhaps decommissioned, but inside it scuttled with life. It had a full crew who had all been ordered to not move the ship until ordered. Those on board were reliant on the assumption that the ship was abandoned. This unnoticed ship did not belong to the Republic, nor did it belong to those who opposed them. Instead it belonged to the Orion Corporation, the company which Jaccer Ramirez currently owned.

As the two ships loaded with soldiers approached the frigate, it became obvious that they knew something was wrong and that they were becoming distressed. The Lieutenant took it upon himself to clam them down, "Remain calm. Please return to your seats and wait for additional orders."

For the third time during this engagement, the dropships would be landed inside a hangar. However, this hangar would not be crawling with enemies or any form of danger whatsoever. Instead, all that greeted the soldier were two Orion Corporation engineers. These two workers would direct the group of soldiers towards a room off the side of the hangar. Upon entering the room it would be apparent that it was some sort of armoury, although all the equipment racks were bare. "Please disable your Xythan force shields and place them on the racks in front you." Instead of talking through the comm system situated in the soldier's helmets, Jaccer voice came through the tannoy system of the ship.

 

[Hopeman12]

Post 4/20 blaze it​

Jordun sighed in relief, he just remembered that [member="Corvus Raaf"] is one of the most powerful Jedi of all time, so she could easily deflect the water. A funny little fact about this is that Jordun actually has a large crush on his master, maybe it was her bravery, maybe it was her smile, whatever it was; it made Jordun feel funny inside whenever he is near her. He knew the two of them could never happen but he went along with it. "Master Raaf, didn't see you there, I thought you were one of those dirty selkath" Jordun said while wiping himself off.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Objective E - "patrolling"
Post 4/20

The air held such life. Water made for the basic building blocks of life. Mantic could not help but be astounded by this water planet.
Parts of him had wished he had visited the place before. Meditation seemed to come more natural here and as his eyes tracked the ripples of the surface he felt so close to fall deeper into the force with such ease.

He smiled. Memoriez started to flush his mind. Memories of past and current events. A bit surprised he realized he missed many oeople. His old master [member="Maya Whitelight"] - where was she now? He missed her undying faith in the power of healing. Her teachings were still guidelines for him.

And [member="Minna"] - why did he return to think on her? They had met briefly and Mantic considered her a close friend and ally. But it had been some time now. He hoped she was well whatever had happened. He made a mental note to ask [member="Corvus Raaf"] about her when he would see her the next time.

One of the more prominent masters in Mantics eyes - [member="Mak Manto"] - had started to take new padawans again, at least that brought hope to these troubled time.

But he was here for another reason - duty. And speaking of padawans.
He wondered if he could find [member="Orphen"] or [member="Illyana Nightshade"] or maybe [member="Rafeesh"] in the city. They had all recieved the republics request for jedi presence on Manaan. But he knew they were busy as well, no longer the beginners who only waited for their masters approval for every step.

Mantic turned away from the water and started to walk toward the centre of the floating city. The jedi were here to create stability and security with the diplomats of the republic in negotiations this was mostly a symbolic gesture but never the less an important one.

 

[Jaccer Ramirez]

Post Number: [9/20]
Objective E: Continue with my development thread (I ran out of title ideas)

Spoiler

Forces:
64 Soldiers

• All equipped with advanced Xythan force shields
• Split into 8 fire teams of 8 soldiers

Xythan Force Shield Dev post #9

The majority of the soldiers were confused at this request from their commanding officer. Some of them must of assumed that they would be allowed to keep their shields for future purposes and combat scenarios. Unfortunately many more tests would have to be carried out before production and distribution of the Xythan shields could begin. It would be undesirable for situations to occur like what had happened earlier on during the mission where the shields had disabled. If that had happened to a whole army of Republic troops the casualties had the potential to be catastrophic. It would also destroy the Orion Corporation and the reliability it was known for.

Once all the shields had been placed on the racks at the centre of the armoury, they would sink into the ground. From here they would be gathered by Orion Corporation officials before being transported to one of the many facilities of the company. The next stage in testing would be against other forms of energy weapons, ion weaponry, plasma-based weaponry and even lightsabers. Even if the shields would prove to be even half as effective against these forms of damage, it would prove that the product was worth the time, credits and manpower the Orion Corporation was currently feeding it.

As the armoury racks disappeared in front of them, Jaccer would speak to his confused soldiers "Report back to the dropships, you're going home." As expected from trusted soldiers like they were, the troopers would follow their orders and follow the corridors back to the hangar. "Apollo to Valkyrie 1 and Valkyrie 2, bring our men home safely, I feel they deserve a rest after today." After returning to their designated dropships once again, they would soon the frigate and begin there journey back to the Republic command ships where they had been deployed from.

Finally, this gruelling and stressful mission was coming to an end. It wouldn't long now...

 

[Gir Quee]

Location: Star Destroyer Obi-Wan Kenobi, in orbit via Manaan
Objective: E
Allies: [member="Reshmar"] | [member="Vernan Holt"]
Enemies: none yet

[ 5 / 20 ]
[Manaan One Development Post #5]

Gir glanced at his wrist-chrono, a souvenir dating back from his days on Anaxes. Any second now...A bright flash of Cronau radiation flooded the viewport as Manaan One crossed into realspace. Even if it was only a blip, The massive bulk of the gray Citadel-class Station was even visible to Gir's naked eye. Something Gir found impressive given how far away the Obi-Wan Kenobi was staged away. He spun about on his heels to face the helmsman, but Captain Lod had already anticipated the admiral's orders. The star destroyer surged forward towards the newly arrived station. Captain Lod walked up from the crewpit to join the admiral's observation of the nearing station.

"Sir, you really ought to not look so glum."

"Losing a good officer is never...well, you know how it is."

Lod flashed an almost human-like smile, "I do, in fact. It's why I fought to get back here."

"I suppose that does work up and down the ranks," considered the blonde man.

"Speaking of things that leave," said Lod, glancing at his datapad, "it appears that the tugs are disengaging already."

"It shouldn't be too much of a worry," said Gir, "citadels do have powerful enough maneuvering thrusters that they should be able to adjust their orbit fairly easily. I'm certain that Besk...Commander Arr'krel will be happy to see the tugs gone."

Gir tapped a button on his headset comlink, "How was the jump, commander?"

 

[Farryn Loragwyn]

Objective: E - Training
Post: [08/20]

Sofia was not making much progress on swimming by herself so in order to save time, she signed up for swimming lessons. Unfortunately, she had managed to overlook the fact that as Manaan was a planet that surronded it's cities with water, all the adults were already strong swimmers and young children were who these lessons catered to.

She had a look of annoyance on her face when she finall relieved her mistake a little too late as she watched the children paddle in the pool with their instructor. Luckily the lessons were free which meant she did not waste money but it was still quite an embarrassing mistake she had made.

"Kark it," Sofia muttered having resigned herself to having to hire a private instructor. Hopefully she would be able to recoup her money by handing her receipts to the army's adminstration department and have the lessons covered as training expenses.